Senate Bill 2149

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-20-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,
TO EXTEND THE AUTOMATIC REPEALER ON THE STATUTE PROVIDING FOR EXEMPTION
FROM CHILD-CARE FACILITY LICENSURE FOR CERTAIN ACCREDITED PROGRAMS; AND FOR
RELATED PURPOSES.

43-20-5.
When used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following
meanings:

(a)
"Child-care facility" means a place which provides shelter and
personal care for six (6) or more children who are not related within the third
degree computed according to the civil law to the operator and who are under
thirteen (13) years of age, for any part of the twenty-four-hour day, whether such
place be organized or operated for profit or not. The term "child-care facility" includes day nurseries,
day care centers and any other facility that falls within the scope of the
definitions set forth above, regardless of auspices. Exemptions from the provisions of this chapter include:

(i) Child-care facilities which operate for no more than two (2) days
a week, whose primary purpose is to provide respite for the caregiver or
temporary care during other scheduled or related activities and organized
programs which operate for three (3) or less weeks per year such as, but not
limited to, vacation bible schools and scout day camps.

(ii) Any child residential home as defined in, and in compliance with
the provisions of, Section 43-16-3(b) et seq.

(iii) 1. Any elementary,
including kindergarten, and/or secondary school system, accredited by the
Mississippi State Department of Education, the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools, the Mississippi Private School Education Association, the American
Association of Christian Schools, the Association of Christian Schools
International, and any Head Start program operating in conjunction with an
elementary school system, whether it be public, private or parochial, whose
primary purpose is a structured school or school readiness program.

2. Accreditation, for the purpose of exemption from the provisions
of this chapter, means a. receipt by any school or school system of full
accreditation from an accrediting entity listed in item 1 of this subparagraph
(iii), or b. proof of application by the school or school system for
accreditation status from the accrediting entity. Proof of application for accreditation status shall include, but
not be limited to, a copy of the applicant's completed application for
accreditation filed with the licensing agency and a letter or other
authenticating documentation from a signatory authority with the accrediting
entity that the application for accreditation has been received and that the
applicant is currently under consideration or review for full accreditation
status by the accrediting entity. An
exemption for a nonaccredited applicant under this item 2 shall be for a
maximum of one (1) year from the receipt date by the licensing agency of the
completed documentation for proof of application for accreditation status. Failure to receive full accreditation by the
end of the one-year exemption period for a nonaccredited applicant shall result
in the nonaccredited applicant no longer remaining exempt from the provisions
of this chapter at the end of the one-year period. However, if full accreditation is not received by the end of the
one-year exemption period, the State Board of Health, in its discretion, may
extend the exemption period for any nonaccredited applicant for periods of six
(6) months, with the total extension not to exceed one (1) year. During any such extension periods, the board
shall have the authority to enforce child-care facility licensure provisions
relating to the health and safety of the children in the school or school
system. If a nonaccredited applicant
fails to receive full accreditation by the end of all extended exemption
periods, the applicant shall no longer remain exempt from the provisions of
this chapter at the end of the extended exemption periods. This item 2 shall stand repealed on July
1, 2004.

(iv) Any membership organization affiliated with a national
organization which charges only a nominal annual membership fee, does not
receive monthly, weekly or daily payments for services, and is certified by its
national association as being in compliance with the association's minimum
standards and procedures, including, but not limited to, the Boys and Girls
Club of America, and the YMCA.

(v) Any family child-care home as defined in Section 43-20-53(a) et
seq.

All other preschool child-care programs
and/or extended day school programs must meet requirements set forth in this
chapter.

(b)
"Health" means that condition of being sound in mind and body
and encompasses an individual's physical, mental and emotional welfare.

(c)
"Safety" means that condition of being protected from hurt,
injury or loss.

(e)
"Operator" means any person, acting individually or jointly
with another person or persons, who shall establish, own, operate, conduct or
maintain a child-care facility. The
child-care facility license shall be issued in the name of the operator, or, if
there is more than one (1) operator, in the name of one (1) of the
operators. If there is more than one
(1) operator, all statutory and regulatory provisions concerning the background
checks of operators shall be equally applied to all operators of a facility,
including, but not limited to, a spouse who jointly owns, operates or maintains
the child-care facility regardless of which particular person is named on the
license.

(f)
"Personal care" means assistance rendered by personnel of the
child-care facility in performing one or more of the activities of daily
living, which includes, but is not limited to, the feeding, personal grooming,
supervising and dressing of children placed in the child-care facility.

(g)
"Licensing agency" means the Mississippi State Department of
Health.

(h)
"Caregiver" means any person who provides direct care,
supervision or guidance to children in a child-care facility, regardless of
title or occupation.

SECTION
2. This act shall take effect and
be in force from and after June 30, 2003.